Just Add Water: What the Popular Sausage Is Actually Made of

Boiled sausage is almost a must in most refrigerators. it has not been perceived as a delicacy for a long time, rather it is just a finished product that is stored for a long time and is always ready to eat. He is cursed by nutritionists and continues to be bought by consumers. But more and more often, standing at the store shelf, a person wonders: what is the “doctor’s” stick made of, which is sold at half the price of meat?

Conversely, is a high price a guarantee of quality? NHS columnist Stas Sokolov studied the history of boiled sausage and figured out its composition. Spoiler: a conscientious manufacturer can make a “doctoral” one that will suit vegetarians so that the average MEAT eater will not notice the catch.

From Ancient Rome to Pyaterochka

According to a common legend, the name "doctor's" boiled sausage was given because its recipe was allegedly developed in 1938 as a dish for the dietary nutrition of patients with poor HEALTH as a result of the Civil War and tsarist despotism. But then it was definitely no longer necessary to develop any special technology for boiled sausages.

The basic principle itself was known almost in the days of Ancient Rome. A similar type of sausage, Mortadella, has been produced in the Bologna region for many centuries. The name itself, most likely, comes from the Latin name of the stupa (mortarium), in which they not only ground, but literally whipped minced meat into a homogeneous mass. At the beginning of the 20th century in the usa, the Italian recipe was simplified for industrial production (there this sausage is still called bologna). And at the end of the 30s, the technology, together with the equipment, was brought to the USSR by the people's commissar of the food industry Anastas Mikoyan.

But all boiled sausages - from mortadella to "doctor's" - are united by the need for precisely this, very thorough grinding of meat, which allows you to introduce a variety of (including the most unexpected) ingredients into the composition so that in the finished product they can sometimes be recognized without a laboratory only experienced technologist.

"Doctoral according to GOST"

It is not uncommon to hear about a certain “Soviet GOST for a doctoral thesis”. This is not entirely true, GOST (both in the USSR and now) existed for boiled sausages in general, describing the entire set of raw materials and technologies that should be used. However, there is no actual recipe for specific sausages in the text of GOST; for this, there were separate collections of technological maps that were issued for food industry enterprises.

The first version of the "doctor's" did not provide for the use of anything but meat, spices and a preservative (nitrate): 15% premium beef, 60% lean pork, 25% fatty pork (according to GOST, this is pork, in which fat is half the volume).

In the process of secondary grinding, ice or just very cold water was added, which was necessary to create a sausage emulsion - a completely homogeneous, slightly stretchy light mass. That sausage, by the way, was not stored for long - only eight days in a cold room. But few have tried it. At first, it was simply produced a little, and then the country as a whole was not at all up to delicacies.

In the late 50s, when the Soviet food industry soared, it was decided to add egg powder and MILK powder to the composition of the sausage . Of course, only to increase the nutritional value of the product. In reality, most likely, this was caused by a decrease in the quality of raw materials with an increase in production volumes. The egg also helped to stabilize the sausage mass. GOST for boiled sausages was later corrected several times (depending on the actual situation with raw materials and dietary recommendations), but in general, boiled sausages have survived to this day in this form.

Now most manufacturers who promise a product in accordance with GOST rely on the 23670-2019 standard. Those who wish can see for themselves that there are no exact recipes there, but there is only a list of allowed ingredients:

pork, beef, water, chicken eggs or egg melange, whole or skimmed cow's milk, SALT, SUGAR, spices (nutmeg or cardamom), antioxidant: ascorbic acid, color fixer: sodium nitrite.

What happens, except for GOST?

There are no laws requiring enterprises to follow GOST, this is a voluntary decision of the owners of the enterprise. In principle, any meat processor can develop and register Technical Specifications (TU) or Technical Organization Standard (STO), which will already prescribe the use of any ingredients and technologies (the main thing is that they are not prohibited for food production in principle).

The main difference between TU and STO is that the first is an adjustment or extension of an existing GOST. The development of technical conditions should be carried out by a third-party organization, and the specifications themselves are subject to state registration. STO is a standard, originally developed on the basis of their own needs, for its approval, the signature of the HEAD of the enterprise is sufficient.

The word “doctoral” (as well as “dairy”, “amateur”, etc.) on the front of the package does not, by itself, mean anything at all. Basically, it's just a design element. On the shelves of stores you can find "doctor's" made according to TU or STO, which honestly indicate machine-boned chicken meat, potato starch, "animal protein", bacon, etc. More honest manufacturers simply add some epithets or clarifications to the word "doctoral". But some don't even do that.

How much is a real "doctoral"

The Soviet (corresponding to the modern) “doctor’s” recipe involves the use (per 1 kilogram) of 250 grams of beef pulp, 700 grams of bold (up to 50%) pork, 30 grams of egg melange and 20 grams of powdered milk. Taking into account the addition of the permitted amount of water, the output should be 1.15–1.2 kilograms of the finished product.

A good meat sausage cannot cost less than a kilogram of meat. This is a perfect axiom, says Andrey Kuspits, the founder and head of the Le Bon Gout sausage and meat deli production company using traditional technologies.

According to the expert, only raw materials of the required quality for a kilogram of "doctoral" will cost 400-500 rubles per kilogram, and in retail such a product will already cost all 800-1,200.

“We are talking about sausages completely “without nonsense”, with a short shelf life,” Kuspits clarifies.

Vadim Prusakov (who worked in the structures of two large meat processors) gives similar estimates. According to him, the marginality of sausage production at large enterprises is about 50% (that is, so much the price of finished products at the exit from the enterprise differs from the cost of raw materials). Another 50% is added by retail trade on average.

Large agro-industrial holdings, of course, can get raw materials cheaper. But all the same, boiled sausage, which costs less than 600-700 rubles on the shelf (and this is not some kind of action), should raise serious doubts.

What can lower the price

Sausage manufacturers might be happy to make a product of the highest quality, but they have to focus on the real level of income. The most innocuous way to reduce costs can be considered the use of briquetted frozen meat, which, as a rule, is imported from countries where this raw material can be bought cheaper. There seems to be nothing wrong with this, but what exactly the supplier collected in these briquettes is an open question.

In Europe and North America, scandals periodically flare up due to the fact that horse meat, camel meat and even kangaroo meat are found in sausages or semi-finished meat products during checks. This does not mean, of course, that some sausage manufacturer specifically purchased kangaroo meats (in Australia, for example, this is a completely legal product). It’s just that it was once added to industrial briquettes, but where it came from and how much it was in warehouses cannot be established without a special investigation.

The next step is the use of the so-called “mechanically deboned meat”. This means that those parts of the carcass from which all the pulp has already been cut by hand are sent to the crusher, and all the pulp is squeezed out of the resulting mixture, removing bone fragments using filters. Formally, this is also “meat”, but in fact it is mainly finely ground cartilage, skin, viscera, connective tissue and fat. Modern powerful equipment allows you to grind this raw material literally into a paste. But sometimes the abundance of cartilaginous tissue can be recognized organoleptically.

At this stage, the tricks allowed by the law end and natural cheating begins.

Meat can be replaced with water. In order to explain how this happens, Vadim Prusakov cites an ordinary jelly as an example.

— This is a traditional product, it does not scare anyone. But in essence, it's just water, which was given a permanent shape due to natural collagen. If you take stronger thickeners, and even add vegetable fiber to such a broth, which will give the desired density, you will get something similar to modern mass sausage. It remains to give the resulting substance the desired color, add spices. In fact, a very cheap sausage can literally be made from water and a set of powders, Prusakov admits.

Therefore, do not be surprised by the "sausage" at 300, 200 or even 150 rubles per kilogram. Water and fiber are inexpensive. The main thing is to color and flavor them correctly.

Can this be eaten?

There is a lot of speculation about the harm of modern sausages. The main problem, however, is that it is quite difficult to tell exactly what a particular sausage was made of just by looking at the packaging. Simply because the composition on the package has nothing to do with the actual recipe.

The most harmless ingredient can be considered fiber. It is quite cheap, even when sold in health food stores, Prusakov jokes that manufacturers could well master honest sausage without meat and sell it as an innovative dietary product. This is hindered only by some inertia of thinking.

Mechanically deboned meat can also be considered relatively safe. You just need to understand that it contains much less protein and more fat. There may be no harm in it, but there is little benefit. It is a cheap source of energy.

The main complaints about sausages are related to additives that extend the shelf life and color the sausage in pleasing to the eye shades. Andrey Kuspits believes that the problem is not in the very fact of their use, but in dosages.

Two elements are allowed in sausage: sodium nitrite and phosphate. Nitrite has been used for centuries in sausage making. Initially, for the formation of the so-called "ham" taste and color formation. But the real functionality is due to the fact that this is a prophylactic against sausage disease - sausage in Latin botulus. Of course, writing “botulism prophylactic” on a product is not very appetizing, so it is labeled as a “color fixer”.

Some companies are taking the lead from media-intimidated buyers and using products such as "celery extract" or "nettle extract". In European countries, the fright from incomprehensible words began earlier, and our Belgian brothers in mind learned how to prepare nitrite from plants rich in this substance. Chemically, it's exactly the same, but sounds less intimidating on the label. There is never any nitrite nitrate in the final product. Everything has already reacted with the meat protein,” says Kuspits.

Scary E

Recently, manufacturers have been trying not to indicate the numbers of the additives used according to the international classification - those terrible “E-shki”. Their mere sight terrifies the public, so it is easier to write "locust bean gum or antioxidant" than to indicate their codes.

“Actually, this is a convenient classifier, but thanks to the efforts of some TV shows, in pursuit of ratings, inventing scarecrow stories where there is no reason for unrest, the public has become afraid of any letters E on products. Meanwhile, this code hides not only somehow compromised substances, but also necessary or useful ones. So, for example, ascorbic acid (the same vitamin C), without which human life is unthinkable, has the E300 code, notes Kuspits.

Ascorbic acid is added to sausage as an antioxidant - it helps protect products from oxidation (and related changes in color and taste). But not all supplements are as beneficial.

A common additive in sausage is sodium pyrophosphate (E450). It is a white powder without taste and with a specific smell. It is added to improve the consistency of the product (it binds moisture and makes it easier to obtain an emulsion). This substance is allowed in RUSSIA in small doses and cannot be harmful if there is sausage with it infrequently. But constant use can cause a deterioration in the absorption of phosphorus, iron and calcium.

You can turn almost any substance into something edible by adding flavor enhancers. Monosodium glutamate (E621) is a white, tasteless and odorless powder that acts on human taste buds in such a way that the brain receives a signal: this is a product rich in protein, which means it has a higher nutritional value. This substance was isolated for the first time at the end of the 19th century, when they tried to create a "meat concentrate".

In Japan, the powder was given the romantic name "root of taste" (aji no moto) - this is the fifth umami taste that is so valued in this country. Its sensations can be achieved by a combination and proper processing of products. Or you can just pour the powder into minced meat.

Monosodium glutamate itself is not dangerous in moderate doses. However, its use allows you to feed a person almost anything. For example, try eating “doshirak” without glutamate - the noodles will seem absolutely tasteless. In addition, the supplement causes appetite and the person simply eats more, even after being satiated.

Potato starch is an organic substance that plays the role of a thickener, stabilizer and structuring agent. Its presence in the composition is unmistakable evidence that they are trying to sell you water under the guise of sausage.

How to deal with it

Public opinion (prone, as you know, to simplifications) likes to lay responsibility for dubious sausages solely on its producers. At the same time, it is somehow forgotten that all these “doctoral” and “dairy” chicken meats are bought every day by millions of people.

— Sausage has ceased to be a delicacy. Now it's just ready-made food that you can buy, throw in the refrigerator and cut off a piece for a sandwich at any time. Factories make what customers are willing to buy, that's all. Most large manufacturers, along with "sausage from the water" have quite high-quality products. They just cost a lot more, says Vadim Prusakov.

Andrey Kuspits also believes that the decision is ultimately made by the consumer. And there will always be a very high-quality delicacy product and “fodder for people” on the market. One does not exclude the other. According to the expert, the problem is that the consumer often simply does not understand the difference and is not ready to pay for this most coveted “meat sausage”.

“Due to the complex history of our beautiful country, the entire handicraft segment was destroyed in our country. Now he is starting to revive. And the public begins to understand that the best bread is made by a small baker, and every day there is a plastic-wrapped bun from the supermarket. Likewise with sausage. In large cities, artisan producers have now appeared who make simply wonderful sausages.

But the mass consumer is simply not familiar with this. It's quite normal. I've been on several TV shows with blind tastings, and the real products invariably lost out to the mass-produced ones. Without a flavor enhancer, the former seem strange, and the appearance devoid of dyes is also questionable, says Kuspits.

Vadim Prusakov believes that there is nothing wrong with cheap sausage if the consumer is satisfied with the taste. You just need to be aware of what you are paying for. And either don't complain, or give preference to more trustworthy products.